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Arrive in Istanbul

 

Had 45 minute late departure out of Houston, and a crying (actually screaming) baby two rows up for half the 11 hour flight.  But, got here just fine.  Our guide met us and we were off to our hotel.  Traffic is worse than MoPac! See picure of kids fishing off bridge with Hagia Sophia in distant background, then driving under an old Roman aqueduct.  We are in nice hotel right downtown. Our guide walked us to main square to a restaurant he recommended.  We ate a very good meal.d dinner and headed back to hotel to crash—we are all very tired.  Three people on tour were delayed and will be in tomorrow, and one couple had to cancel at last minute due to illness.  

Sept 13
Istanbul

 

Had a wonderful breakfast at hotel at 7 am then met guide at 8 and off to see sights for today. First was the Hippodrome area, where in 3rd century AD they held chariot races.  It is now a public garden. We walked on to Hagia Sophia, built in 537 AD.  Originally a Christian church, when the Ottomans invaded in 15th century AD, they converted it to a mosque and added the minarets to the outside. It remained a mosque until 1930’s when it became a museum.  It has a huge dome and interior has Christian mosaics as well as Muslim décor. After lunch in a local eatery, we toured the Basilica Cistern, a huge underground cistern built in 532 AD to store water supplies for the city at that time.  It is lit up, but pictures were too dark to include.  We then walked to the Blue Mosque, an active mosque built in 1609-16.  It is referred to as Blue Mosque because of blue tiles used in the interior.  We walked in to the courtyard, but unfortunately there were huge crowds this afternoon, so our guide decided we would go in the morning tomorrow instead.  Walking back to the bus, we saw a young boy dressed in white “Prince” costume—a custom when they are about to be circumcised. His family allowed me to take picture of him, and he gave me the small rose he was carrying. Came back to hotel to rest before group dinner tonight.

Sept 14
Sept 15

Another great breakfast and off to the Grand Bazaar arriving right before it opened.  Over 4000 small shops (we only saw a small part of them) with lots of items—but left without buying anything (Mike was very happy with this outcome)!  On to the Blue Mosque to see interior---called Blue Mosque because of the many, many blue tiles on walls & ceilings.  Women had to cover head and everyone has to take their shoes off.

On to Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman Sultans, covering many acres.  Pictures of 1st gate and the room where the Grand Vizier would hear petitions to the Sultan—after which the Grand Vizier would pass the petitions on to the Sultan.  But the Sultan would sometimes sit behind grill above the seat and listen to make sure he would hear the whole story. Picture of Mike and our guide and another tour member, in pavilion shows the room in back (with lots of blue tiles) which is called the circumcision room, where sons of the Sultan were circumcised.

After nice lunch, we went to spice market, with lots of interesting spices and souvenirs, but left without buying anything again.  We then boarded a boat (we were only passengers) for a tour of the Bosporus Straights seeing where the Black Sea connects to the Mediterranean and both the European and Asia sides.  All around on both sides is the city of Istanbul, a huge city with over 13 million people.  Dealing with the many, many tourists and the hectic traffic, we arrived back at hotel.  Everyone was tired and ready to rest before going to dinner.

Weather had been warm and humid; the boat ride was great in that we got to just sit around and enjoy the cool wind over the boat.

Food is unbelievably good and healthy!  We are gaining weight!

Sept 16

After a little bit later breakfast, we left Istanbul airport to fly to Gazientep (about 1 ½ hr flight) in SE part of Turkey.  We are only 9 in our group (originally 11, but a couple had to drop out for health reasons).  Our trip on the boat yesterday could have held 150 people, but we were the only passengers on board.  Today the bus that met us at the Gazintep airport could hold 40+.  It is very nice to have so much room and personal attention.  So far both hotels have been top notch – much better than we normally stay in when on our own. The flight was interesting in that we flew over a fairly varied topography including a large salt lake.

After landing, we went straight to the Zuegma Mosaic Museum, which houses mosaics they found about 40 km away near the Euphrates River when they were building a dam on the Euphrates.  They are from Roman houses from a couple 100 years BC to 6 AD and had been completely covered over by an earthquake.  They were excavated before the dam was operational and set up as in the houses they were found in.  Probably some of the best preserved and displayed mosaics we have seen – we were very impressed with the Turkish government in saving and maintaining these artifacts.  After the museum we went to our hotel, Hotel Divan Gazientep.

Sept 17

First thing this morning after leaving hotel and another big breakfast, we went to a local baklava factory.  We had to put on white coats, hair nets and shoe covers.  We saw each step in making baklava---made with thin dough, sheep’s butter, clotted cream and finely chopped pistachio nuts.  Of course, we had to try some afterward—Yum!

From there to the Gaziantep city museum—very informative. Then onto a local Turkish place to eat lunch—many locals there, few tourists.  They brought out first parsley, lemon and a very hot pepper with hot paprika to sprinkle over.  Then a very good mixed salad with pomegranate vinaigrette followed by a pizza type appetizer bigger than our plates.  The main course was a mixed grill kebab—various meats with egg plant, roasted tomatoes and fresh pita bread.  For dessert, we had baklava of course.  Think we gained 5 pounds each just from lunch.

To wear off the food we walked thru the market area where the Turks shop (Gaziantep does not seem to be a tourist hotspot, but does have 1.6 million people) -- lots of copper items, inlaid wood items, shoes, scarves, etc., but did not buy anything.  On way back to bus, we stopped in a small privately run museum filled with many Roman and earlier artifacts that the owner had collected over 25 years and decided to display.  Interesting was a Roman breast pump made out of glass.

Back to hotel to rest.  Supper tonight was a cooking lesson on Turkish, Analtolian and Assyrian cuisine.  While they demonstrated only one dish, we were brought many others to try.  We shared with everyone tonight, the wine that the Flying Longhorns company gave us at first hotel for our 50th anniversary that we are celebrating today. We definitely are not suffering from lack of sustenance on this trip!

Sept 18

We left Gaziantep this morning and stopped at a sanctuary for the bald headed ibis—an endangered species that they are slowly bringing back at this center.  From there, we  traveled to a town on a lake created by one of the new dams on the Euphrates.  We once again had a whole boat to ourselves for a leisurely boat ride on the Euphrates/lake.  Along the way we saw remains up on hill of a castle.  They had carved away the hill below the castle to make it harder to be invaded—creating sheer cliffs.  When you realize from the pictures that the level before the dam was ~ 150 ft lower, it was a menacing sight. At one point, a village which is now under water, the minaret from the former mosque sticks up above the water level.

After returning to the dock, we had a nice lunch on their floating pontoon restaurant. Lunch on the Euphrates!  Totally off the tourist path! 

From here we had a drive on a toll way south to a new archaeological dig called Gobeckli Tepe near Sanliurfa ---new in that it started about 25 years ago when the farmers who owned the land found some artifacts (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/?no-ist).  They have only excavated about 5% of the site (determined by radar mapping of the ground) and hopefully will soon be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  They believe it is a sort of temple and have carbon dated it to around 10,000 BC (predates Stonehenge by 6,000 years--the oldest known man-made structure in the world).  Very impressive!  All of the countryside in this area, really reminds us of Spain.  Near the temple and all over this area are many, many olive and pistachio trees.

From there to Sanliurfa and checked into our hotel and ate dinner at hotel. 

Mike’s observations:  Turkey has changed considerably in the 31+ years since I last visited.  There are now 22 dams on the Euphrates and Tigress and their tributaries.  The Turks are turning the desert back into a very productive agriculture economy.  There are considerably more Olive and Pistachio trees.  And the roads are much, much improved.  I am very impressed in the growth of this country.

Sept 19

Mike had some stomach issues during the night, so he decided to stay at hotel this morning.  One of the other men also stayed behind for the same reason.    Our group headed out of town to an excavation site in Harran to see site of a very old Assyrian Islamic university that later was turned into a mosque.  Harran has been a settlement since the 6th Century B.C.   Also in old Harran, we visited a family’s beehive house.  Though now a sort of museum, it was their home and is a good example of this type of architecture—with adobe type bricks and beehive shape that kept the houses much cooler than outside. Several generations of this family live in newer house next door and operate the museum. 

Driving back to Sanliurfa, we passed many fields of cotton and corn, not in place 20 years ago but now possible due to the dams on the Euphrates and irrigation ditches.  There were workers in the fields picking the cotton---migrant workers many of which are refugees from Syria and living in tents near the fields.

After lunch, we went back to hotel to rest during the hot part of the day.  Late afternoon we headed back out (Mike included—feeling better) to go to a nice park that is below the castle ruins and walked around seeing the park and an adjacent mosque.  Dinner was at a restaurant on an upstairs terrace overlooking the park.  Very good, but every meal we just have too much food.

Sept 20

Checked out of hotel for about hour drive to one of the 15 dams they have built on the Euphrates River for hydroelectric power and irrigation---quite an impressive structure.  While there we were served tea—the Turks drink tea in little glass cups all day long.  Lynne had apple tea which was great.

From there we headed to the mountains switching to a van (to negotiate the mountain road) and stopped for lunch about half way up.  We then went on to the top of Mt Nemrud.  King Antiochus who ruled this area in 1st century BC thought of himself as a descendant of the god Apollo.  He had the mountain top leveled and a terrace on both the east and west sides with structures of several gods of the time as well as himself.  In the picture of the east terrace were 5 large figures, but you will notice their heads are on the ground, possibly from earthquakes and/or weather.  The stone is limestone and the elevation is about 7000’ so it gets snow in the winter and that and the wind have caused erosion on all the sculptures. Between the two terraces is a huge gravel peak about 150’ high where it is presumed Antiochus was buried.  It was said he was a very vain person that seems quite obvious when you consider what it took in manpower to build it.

The van drove us up as close as possible to the peak, but we still had over ½ a mile walk/climb up.  They did have well paved path/stairs, but it was hard especially with the altitude.  However, all nine of us and our guide made it up.  We were really proud of ourselves to say the least.

Back to the hotel where we checked in and then had another great dinner.

Sept 21

Not as hectic a day today, but long.  We left hotel at 9 and went to a small local museum in Adiyaman with more info on Mt Nemrut and the local area.  We then drove on to Kahramanaras for a nice lunch,  then walked a block or two to a restaurant that serves a special Turkish ice cream made with goats milk, wild orchid roots and a resin from the mastic tree.  It only comes in vanilla and has a chewy consistency.  It was served with a piece of baklava and another pistachio pastry. 

We walked back to the bus and headed out on the road to the Cappadochia area.  About an hour out of town a sensor on the bus went off.  We pulled off in a gas station and the bus driver tried to figure out what was wrong.  A mechanic was called and between them they determined a radiator hose had a hole in it.  He went to next town, got a replacement and we were back on our way after a 2 ½ hr delay.  So we were late getting to hotel in Urchisar (about 9:30) but they had dinner waiting for us.  Life happens and it all turned out good.

Sept 22

Lynne woke up with stomach problems this morning---almost every one of our group has had it at one time or another so far.  But she went on to the tour for the day of the Cappadochia area.  First we went to the underground dwellings carved out of the volcanic ash rock.  These were mostly used as a place to hide from invading enemies, and later by early Christians.  Though they may have had to stay underground for a while to be safe, they were not permanent dwellings.  The passageways were low and narrow in many places so we were all glad to get back to fresh air.

Next we went to the Goreme Open Air Museum to see the churches the early Christians made in the carved out rock.  When we got there, Lynne decided to sit and wait for the group and not go in.  Had to buy a book on it so she would know what she missed  

Our last stop was to a carpet making cooperative where they demonstrated how they make the rugs, dye the wool, etc.  They then sat us in a room where they showed examples of many of the colors and designs that they have.  Of course, these were for sale too.  5 of our group bought a rug including us.  They will ship it to us as part of the price.  Guess we really helped the Turkish economy today!

Back to the hotel to rest before going to dinner, but Lynne decided to stay and not go to dinner.  We have eaten so much food, and with her stomach issues, she felt that was the better thing to do.

Sept 23

The day started early for Lynne about 1:45am when she came down with a fairly severe case of Allah’s Revenge which continued unabated until 4am when she finally took some antibiotics especially for diarrhea.  Jumping forward to tonight she is feeling much, much better, but she missed all the tour activities.

After another large breakfast, Mike and group traveled about 1km to the Uchisar castle.  This was not a castle like we typically think of, but a prominent outcropping that sticks well above the surrounding territory with fairly soft stone for easy digging.  We climbed to the top and the view was stunning.

Then we were off again, but on the way out of town we saw three Turkish women with a large pot over an open fire.    We stopped and the guide talked to them.  There were boiling grape juice (white grapes) and straining it through something like cheese cloth to make a grape molasses type mixture.  Later they will apply it to a vinyl like cloth to make a thin layer of the grape mixture when it dries for essentially an energy snack.

Then we were off to the Zelve Ruins but with intermittent stops in the Zelve Valley with its fairy tale chimneys.  Mike thought it interesting there was a police station (see picture) in one of the “chimneys”.

Arriving at the Zelve Ruins we walked over 1km into the valley and of course had to walk same distance back out.  Several of our group members commented that it kind of reminded them of Mesa Verde in Arizona.  These cave dwelling were initially started before 330 A.D. and people were living in them as late as 1950.  All-in-all a very impressive display of man’s interaction with nature.

After an unbelievable lunch (see picture with flames around pot and bread on top – the pot had a veal stew), we traveled to a pottery museum and of course everything was on sale.  Lucky for me that Lynne was still back at the hotel as she probably would have bought a bunch.  Afterward we traveled back to the hotel.  Lynne was feeling much better and she had a 30 minute massage and I had the 80 minute Turkish bath.

Since I had not brought a bathing suit they gave me a rectangular piece of cloth to wrap around my mid-section.  They then told me to get into the swimming pool (heated).  I was the only one in the pool and was very concerned about losing my wrap-around “swimming suit”.  After 15 minutes of swimming I got out and they put a mud mixture on my face and put me in a sauna.  I sweated there for about 15 minutes then on to the flat (heated) marble where I started my bath.  There was a female washing me and modesty went out the window although my private parts were “mostly” covered.  She first scrubbed me with something fairly coarse and really got a lot of dead skin off my chest, upper arms, and lower back.  After rinsing all that off, she then put mounds and mounds of soap bubbles (like a bubble bath) all over me and gave me a combined soft scrub and massage.  I thought I was in heaven.  After rinsing all that off, they then sent me down to the masseuse where I got another 30 minutes of full body massage.  I walked out of there very limber.

We had dinner at the hotel and leave early tomorrow for Ankara.

Sept 24

Headed out today from Cappadocia to Ankara.  On the way we visited Hattusha, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, protecting the capital city of the Hittite empire which existed about 1700-300 BC. Stopping at the ruins of the temple area where all that is left is the foundations as they were built of stone.  The walls above the foundations were built of mud bricks so have obviously deteriorated since Hittite times. 

Next to the castle area built at top of the hill.  The picture shows bird’s eye view and a tunnel runs thru the middle of the castle rampart from the top of the image to the bottom.  Picture at bottom shows the rampart and barely shows at top two of the watch tower bases. 

Ate lunch in nearby town at a local restaurant.  Picture on wall showed man in seemingly Hittite dress.  Cenciz said that was the owner of the restaurant who starred as the last king of the Hittites on BBC documentary 8 years ago.  Picture of him is shown---and his name is also Cenciz.  We walked to the local museum---a very nice museum with exhibits from the Hittite city. 

Lastly, we went to nearby rock sanctuary where the Hittites had carved images on the rocks depicting the gods of the time.  Gods are shown with pointed headwear and mortals are depicted with round headwear.

After a 3 hr. drive we arrived at the Ankara Hilton for the next two nights.

(We are having issues with our photo editor and some pictures are cut off top and bottom.  We will try and fix this when we return to the states.)

Sept 25

Went down to a huge spread for breakfast---almost overwhelming.  They even had steamed broccoli. But the most interesting was a drink that they prepared on request in a large juicer—carrots, whole green apple, ginger, mint and lemon.  Very good!

Then we were off to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.  Anatolia is another name for early Turkey, as is Asia Minor.  The museum is housed in an old covered agora (market) building built in 1455 by the then Grand Vizier and was in use until it burned in 1881.  When Ataturk founded the new Turk independence, he suggested the building be used for a museum and work was begun in 1938 (the year he died) and opened in 1943 although work was not completed until 1968.  Laid out chronologically, it was really easier to relate all the things we had seen along the way this past week and a half.  We’ve included a few pictures of items inside from several different periods in their history.

We then went to the mausoleum tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.  He is known as the founder of the Turkish Republic as he helped lead Turkey to independence from the Ottoman Empire (Sultans) in 1923.  His name was Mustafa Kemal, but after independence they added Ataturk to his name meaning “Father of Turkey”.  He is revered perhaps even more than George Washington is in our country.

While at the mausoleum, they had a group of school children from a private school lined up and a procession was held with the children following to lay a wreath inside the mausoleum.  Cute kids all in blue, except the kindergarteners who were in green for quick and easy identification.

After we went thru the Ataturk museum, we came back out on the square and the guards came marching up the long walkway for the changing of the guard’s ceremony.  We watched the ceremony, and then headed to our bus.  Back to the hotel for lunch on our own and free time---we walked a couple blocks, had lunch and looked at a few stores, then came back to rest at hotel.

We have a farewell dinner tonight for the people on the tour who did not sign up for the extension to Izmir.  They fly home tomorrow and the 5 of us on the extension fly onto Izmir. 

Mike’s observations after 13 days:  4.7% of Turkey’s GNP is tourism.  IMHO there were just too many tourists in Istanbul to enjoy it – but it should be a must on your bucket list.  We also encountered crowds in Cappadocia and in fact we could not sign up for the balloon ride there as it had been booked solid for last 3 months.  Lynne and I have been amazed about how clean the country is and how safe it seems to be.  At no time have we felt threatened – and there are parts of Austin I would not go after dark.  Additionally the people have been very friendly and frequently speak broken English. In most museums we visited, the signs were in Turkish and English.  

I

Sept 26

We had to be up and out early today to get to the airport to catch the plane to Izmir.  We arrived about 10:30 and drove to hotel, but rooms weren’t ready.  So we got back on bus for a short tour.  We passed the ancient agora that is slowly being excavated and restored and all decided to go see it. Cengiz had not visited it for about 5 years and was amazed at the work that has been done.  There were two types of agoras---one was a market for trade and the other was a place for taking care of business (parliament, etc)  This one was the latter kind.  They believe this one to be the largest one in the world and that there is still an equal part still covered uphill.  Parts of it were blocked off for archealogists to work on and all the stones, etc sitting around have been numbered and categorized.

When we finished, everyone was hungry but not for a huge meal.  So we walked down the street and found a ‘doner’ shop.  They serve essentially a gyro wrap—chicken or veal.  The owner pulled out chairs and a small table right outside the shop where we ate---very good and just the right amount for lunch.

By then our rooms were ready so we went and got checked in to the Swissotel Buyuk Eses.  It is a nice hotel/convention center with a big park area in back with pool and tennis court.  Including pics of our bathroom—the nicest bathroom we’ve ever had in a hotel.  We had free afternoon and we rested then went for a walk.  Our hotel is about a block from the sea front (Aegean Sea).

We all met at 6 for a short orientation of the sea front and then went together to a restaurant for dinner.  Had various small bowls of appetizers/spreads/dips and bread, then most of us had fish (sea bass), and then a very interesting dessert with ice cream.

We joked on way back to hotel that we didn’t know we had signed up for a culinary tour as well!

Sept 27

We left the hotel this morning at 9am for about a 75 minute drive to Ephesus.  Weather was cloudy and cool (in the 60s F), and had some sprinkles off and on while there, but the good news apparently today was an off day for the cruise ships so we didn’t have huge crowds – although there were a fair number of people there. 

Ephesus is a remarkable old city ruin area.  Originally dated from 2000 BC, the ruins we saw were mainly  from the Roman period of 190 BC to 1st century AD.  We saw the administrative agora area, small theater area where city meetings were held, terraced Roman villas (where rich Romans lived – sort of like the upper class condos in downtown Austin), the trade agora, the large amphitheater where gladiator fights were held, and even the public latrines (co-ed).

Leaving to go to lunch we made a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis which only has foundation ruins left.  On hill behind is the St John Basilica where John (who wrote the 4th gospel and Revelations) was supposed to have been buried.  Many of the stones of the Temple of Artemis were scavenged and used to build the church.

We drove up a mountain to a village 7 miles outside of Ephesus for lunch.  The town was originally a Greek Orthodox town, but when Turkey won independence in 1923, an agreement was made between Turkey and Greece.  An exchange was made—Greeks in Turkey returned to Greece and Turks in Greece returned to Turkey.  Many of those returning to Turkey settled in this village, Sirince.  It is an agricultural area, but they also thrive on tourism.  We had a very good meal, that was all vegetarian, no meat. 

We returned to the hotel, rested, and then walked a block or two from the hotel to find a small streetside café to have another wrap like we had for lunch yesterday.  Was very good and not so filling as all our meals have been.  When we got there, Mike asked (in English of course) and the waiter went and got another man who spoke very good English.  Turns out he lived 4 years in London and was a “machine” engineer (although I really think he was a civil engineer).  He was from a town east of Urfa, Mardin, and showed us pictures of many old structures there, including some old Christian churches.  Almost everyone we have met has been friendly and helpful.  I am still very impressed with the Turkish people.

Sept 28

We headed out about 9am for Pergamum (about 1 ½ hr. north of Izmir) and on the top of a mountain.  The driver let us out at base of the mountain and we rode a cable car to top.  It was cool and the wind was blowing quite hard.  The city wall and citadel was first built about 5th-4th century BC, expanded several times with greatest expansion around 197 BC when the wall around measured 4 km.  When Romans took over there were about 150,000 inhabitants inside and outside (on slopes) the city walls.

A temple started to honor Trajan—was later finished by Hadrian.  These were both 2 of the 5 good Caesars of the Roman Empire period.  The temple was made of white marble so when the sun shone on it, it gleamed from the top of the hill visible from the valley/towns below.

Below the city walls, we walked down to an altar erected in 197 BC when the Pergomonians won a great victory---the altar was dedicated in the name of Zeus and Athena.  Later it was referred to as “Satan’s Throne” in Revelations.

We rode the cable car down and drove to the  Asklepion (the Healing Center) name after Asklepius who was an early physician.  You walked down a long columned pathway where they would determine if you were a candidate to be healed.  All along this path were vendors selling all types of ‘cures’ also.  If you were deemed a candidate, you were allowed to proceed into the healing center.  They had a number of different methods for cures:  a theater for concerts for music therapy, water running everywhere for the soothing sounds it makes, sleep therapies where they had you sleep and then tell you dreams, etc.

We then had another large lunch; followed by the bus ride back to hotel arriving late afternoon in Izmir.  Tonight is our farewell dinner, and we leave early in the morning for the airport and our flights home.

 

This will be our last entry in the blog for this trip.  Overall it has been outstanding even with our stomach issues.  In fact we have jokingly called it our gourmet tour.  The history here in Turkey is awesome.  We have visited ruins dating back to 10,000BC and many, many ruins before and after Christ.  The engineering and building of these structures has caused me to wonder “did we (the human race) go stupid after the birth of Christ.”  Our recommendation would be to put a tour like this on your bucket list.  One of the couples that did not sign up for the extended tour and left last Friday, Facebooked that the only terrorist activity they experienced on this tour was in Chicago (fire in Air Traffic Control center).  The Turks are super friendly and have made tremendous strides to get into the 21st century.    

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